Press Release

The Gerald Peters Gallery is pleased to announce a fall estate show featuring a selection of works by Santa Fe Art Colony artists, Albert H. Krehbiel (1873-1945) and Albert H. Schmidt (1885-1957).

Like so many artists who travelled West during the 1910s and 1920s, Schmidt and Krehbiel both studied at the well-regarded Art Institute of Chicago. And like many other American art students, Schmidt and Krehbiel both travelled to Europe to further their respective educations at the Academie Julian in Paris.

Although most American expatriate painters living in Paris at the turn of the century studied Impressionism, Krehbiel chose a more traditional, neo-classical route – at least initially. His realist-based approach earned Krehbiel an unprecedented number of accolades, including four gold medals from the Academie Julian and the coveted Prix de Rome. But despite his traditional realist beginnings, Krehbiel’s best-known and most-successful paintings are undoubtedly his late tonalist scenes painted in Illinois and his picturesque, sun-drenched scenes of 1920s Santa Fe.

Just how and why Krehbiel came to New Mexico from the Midwest remains a mystery. While the artist left innumerable teaching notebooks and letters from Europe and Illinois behind after his death, very little extant primary source material is available from his Santa Fe period save some photographs and many works of art. It is probable that it was his wife, Dulah Marie Evans, a fellow art student from the Art Institute, who introduced him to New Mexico as her brother Walter Evans was in the mining business in Bisbee. Whatever his connection and his reasons for coming, it is evident from a few remaining letters and many works of art that Krehbiel adopted Santa Fe as his creative home. The repetitive sense of calm and peacefulness in Krehbiel’s colorful scenes of Santa Fe exude a sense of belonging and familiarity that comes only from long hours spent strolling along her caminos or looking with sympathy at the forgotten moments between day and nightfall.

In 1921 when Albert Schmidt and his wife and son were on their way to California, they stopped in Santa Fe, fell in love with the area, and decided to stay. Schmidt was struck by the expanse of the northern New Mexico landscape and devoted his entire life to painting those scenes. He used the European academic traditions he learned at the Art Institute of Chicago throughout his career in addition to the more modern techniques: the color patches of the Impressionists, the serpentine lines of Art Noveau, the blocky masses of the Cubists, and the bright colors of the Expressionists.

His love for the land led to his great interest in light and color effects, design, and tonal analysis. Schmidt was always interested in experimental techniques and had the opportunity to freely experiment since he had no concerns about selling his paintings; his wife earned an income from rental property in Chicago. His main interest was in oils, but by the late 1920s, he developed a love for pastels; the tones were perfect for representing the landscape. He also experimented in watercolor, charcoal and graphite.

Approximately 15 works will be on view, highlighting the contributions both artists made to the modern art movement of Santa Fe and the cultural heritage of the American Southwest.

Gerald Peters Gallery is located at 1005 Paseo de Peralta, just one block from Canyon Road. If you would like additional information please contact: Evan Feldman, Director of Contemporary & Estates, Email. Digital images are available upon request. Thank you for your consideration.